Join me on my quest to attend all 162 Brewers games during the 2012 season, while raising awareness for the Be The Match Registry along the way.

9-9-12 (@ St. Louis)

Sunday was a 1:15 start and I got up at 9:30 to take advantage of the hot breakfast that is offered. It’s normally a $15 breakfast but the Hilton St. Louis Downtown gave me two vouchers for the mornings I was there. Thanks again for everything! I should’ve gotten the waffles on Saturday morning as well. Delicious.

After eating breakfast I started getting everything packed for the trip home. I put my suitcase in my car and then walked to Busch Stadium. I picked up my ticket from will call at noon and was inside two minutes later. I debated where I should get the game number picture taken. I normally try to get a picture taken from the outfield seats looking in towards home plate but this is sometimes a boring picture. With the sky as blue as it was I decided on another picture from the upper deck behind home plate. I had already gotten this for game photo number 21 but as you can see the top half was all washed out due to the overcast skies.

Sunday’s game photo number 140 turned out much better:

I walked around for a bit and talked to a camera guy on the field level about getting an interview during the broadcast. He said if he mentioned it to the producer he would get shot down but said there would be a lady stopping by that could talk to the announcers. She stopped by after the game started but said that she wouldn’t be able to influence Sunday’s broadcast because they already had everything planned; darn. She also said that I should’ve stopped by on Friday and they may have been able to do something; double darn.

Joe Kelly threw a strike to Aoki to get the series finale underway. This was the view from my seat in section 153, it was a perfect day for baseball.

Aoki doubled on the 5th pitch of his at bat and had thought about trying for a triple. He returned to second base but the cutoff man couldn’t handle the throw, meaning Aoki probably would’ve made it safely (hindsight is 20/20 though).

The Brewers failed to score in the 1st despite the leadoff double which was a problem all game. As a team the Brewers were 2 for 14 with runners in scoring position. In the bottom of the 1st the Cardinals scored three runs. Two on a home run from Matt Holliday and the other on a home run from Carlos Beltrán. Marcum was on the mound and here he is after letting go of a pitch in the 1st inning:

A wild pitch from Kelly in the top of the 2nd allowed Corey Hart to score and the game was now 3-1. The bottom of the second saw the Cardinals get that run right back when Matt Carpenter doubled home Kelly. In the top of the 4th Jean Segura batted with runners on first and second and two outs. The first pitch he saw was weakly hit to center but just out of the reach of the second baseman.

It sounded like Segura cracked his bat on the base hit, but I wasn’t sure. I zoomed in on the picture and it does look like it’s fractured just above his hands, no? Nonetheless it was a 4-2 game.

Marcum followed Segura and had a chance to do some damage with two men aboard. He lined the first pitch towards the right field line:

I like that the ball looks like it’s almost resting on Marcum’s head. The first baseman ranged to his left and made the catch before the ball could reach the outfield. At least one run would’ve scored and with Segura’s speed at first who knows, they may have been able to tie it up.

There were no more runs scored as the game entered the top of the 9th inning. I watched the top of the 9th from above the left field bleachers so that when the game ended I could use the exit right behind me and be on my way. I was still hoping the Brewers would score two or more runs in the 9th but I didn’t want to get stuck behind people as I made my way to my car.

With one out Segura doubled off the Cardinals’ closer, Jason Motte. With two outs Aoki stepped in and the count went to 2-2. Down to his (and the Brewers’) last strike Aoki hit the 99 MPH pitch from Motte over the wall in right for a game-tying 2-run home run. It either bounced on the top of the wall and over or hit the railing beyond the wall, but it was close. It was a line drive so I wasn’t sure if it was going to “get up, get up, get out of here” or not.

The Cardinals failed to score in the 9th and the game went to extras. Travis Ishikawa singled with two outs in the 10th and was pinch run for by Eric Farris, who is a recent September call-up. Farris stole second and put himself in scoring position.

Lucroy struck out on four pitches and another scoring opportunity was squandered. In the bottom of the 10th Matt Carpenter singled off Kameron Loe with one out. Loe got Adron Chambers to swing and miss at a 2-2 slider for the strikeout. Lucroy couldn’t coral the low pitch, however, and it got by him [scorer ruled it a wild pitch]. Instead of a guy on first and two outs there were now runners on first and second with only one out. Allan Craig came to the plate for the Cards and hit the 0-1 pitch to right field. Aoki fielded it cleanly and made a nice throw to the plate. Carpenter executed a perfect head-first slide and the Cardinals were walk-off winners. Ugh. Final Score: Cardinals 5 – Brewers 4. The Brewers would have been 4 back of the Cardinals with a win but instead are 6 back, ouch.

I hustled back to my car and left the parking garage just after 4:45. I had called my Aunt and Uncle who live in Springfield earlier in the day and said I could stop by for dinner. I was parked at 6:10 and was able to watch the last quarter of the Packers game, which they wound up losing 30-22. Besides the Brewers win on Saturday it was a tough two days for Wisconsin sports fans. Badgers loss + Packers loss + Brewers loss in a crucial game = a depressing drive home. Thanks Dave for making me a few burgers and some broccoli. I pulled into my parent’s driveway at 11:18 to complete the 7-day 7-game road trip. This means I’m down to my last trip, albeit a 10-day 10-game eastward swing.

It’s past 12:30 on Monday afternoon and I’ll be leaving in a few hours for the first game of a three game set with the wild card leading Braves.

Rootsports Pittsburgh sent me two DVDs with the interview that I did with Dan Potash on August 26th. I’ve included it below. It was a little awkward at the end there when the cameraman just stuck around and got footage of me waving (and smiling). I thought it all was a little close-up, but that also prevents people from photo-bombing in the background. Thanks again to Rootsports for having me on their broadcast. I’m not a big fan of what one of the announcers says about Miller Park, but to each his own.

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